Originally released independently in 2003 and then reissued six years later by Prosthetic Records,
The Hero Cycle launched a largely unheralded and underrated, but relatively solid four-album career for Bay Area extreme metal combo,
Light This City, which sadly broke up in 2008. So for those who did count themselves among the band's fans and followers, the reissue of this previously difficult to find LP should provide some level of closure, or at least one final chapter to be savored, since its songs contain virtually all of the same compositional hallmarks as later efforts -- merely in a formative state. These include an uncompromising metalcore intensity and the occasional breakdown, lots of melodic death metal guitar work borrowed from the '90s Swedish death metal school, and a need for speed which made most all
Light This City albums a breathtaking rush for listeners to keep up with. And even though the group's songwriting had yet to attain the same level of consistency, intra-genre distinction, and sheer depth achieved by later efforts (tracks like "Parisian Sun" and "Sierra" quickly get on one's nerves with their repetitive, cyclical guitar figures, for example), sporadic highlights like the ultra-compact "Picture Start," the particularly melodic "Give Up," and the more diversified, multi-faceted "Laid to Rest" contain the seedlings of what would eventually bear fruit. Also worth noting is a faithful cover of
At the Gates' "Cold" that exemplifies those aforementioned Gothenburg DM influences, as well as admitting that vocalist Laura Nichol's raging growl, while not exactly brimming with all that much personality, still trumped her sporadic and ineffective attempts at clean vocals during "The Weight of Glory." In sum,
The Hero Cycle presents equal doses of promise and inexperience one might expect from a handful of kids barely out of high school, and yet it's also easy to understand why Prosthetic Records would soon give the group a chance to prove themselves at the next level. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia